Night Hunters
by blue-hearts
Summary: AU, HD: Draco, Harry, Hermione, and Ron have known each other for as long as they could remember. Currently they live in a world filled with evil. In a world where when night falls, everyone flees because there is evil in the dark and sometimes, even th
1. Part 1 Moonlight

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing. Characters are from J.K. Rowling. The facts and little parts of the story plot are from L.J. Smith and her wonderful books on vampires and the Night World. 'The Vampire Diaries' and the 'Night World' series.

**Genre**: AU and crossover of information. Characters are still from the Harry Potter books.

**Summary**: Draco, Harry, Hermione and Ron have known each other for as long as they could remember. Currently they live in a world filled with evil. In a world where when night falls, everyone flees because there is evil in the dark, and sometimes, even the team of four cannot bring enough light to banish it. Remus Lupin has not been introduced. None are wizards.

**Beta**: Linds, Rachael Chapman, Susanna, Karen.

**NOTE**: This is a repost because I am retarded and didn't post the version my wonderful beta, Karen, looked over. This was entirely my fault and I hope mistakes like this don't happen again. Here is the chapter again, edited wonderfully by Karen.

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The four walked through the woods, stepping as gently as they could on the fallen autumn leaves, which were damp from rain the previous day. Damp leaves were perfect to walk on as they were not hard and crunchy, giving them the slight advantage of silence.

They walked on under the moonlight. They had been hired by a man in a nearby village to hunt down a monster that was stealing people from their village.

It had finally got out of hand when the village leader's wife was taken some nights before and the team of the four 'Night Hunters' were called for the job.

Only by the light of the full moon would they find the monster. All of them had done this before. In fact, they had been doing it for as long as they could remember, all four now worked in perfection as a team. They could move and understand one another's moves and attacks. Working together, most of their lives, did that to people.

Finally, they heard rustling in the bushes and all four stopped in the middle of a narrow path. This was not the ideal place to hunt down the monster but they didn't have any choice and being together meant they could cope, they were always able to before.

Each of them took their own individual attack stance. The blonde and the red head in the front, while the brunette holding the pure silver sword was beside the man with the black hair in the back.

What came next though was a surprise for all four of them no matter how prepared they were. The werewolf leapt over the first two attackers as a means of escape but it was not ready for the other two behind. Seeing this, the werewolf jumped right onto the man with jet-black hair and slammed his head against a tree trunk.

The man fell unconscious and the monster prepared to bite him but as the head slumped forward and the glow of the moon hit the face all thought to kill vanished.

Even as a werewolf, the man beneath the curse could still feel, could still control, could still understand.

Before any of the others could attack, the werewolf wrapped the unconscious man in his arms and fled.

The blonde man ran, they all ran, but the blonde ran as if his life depended on it and in many ways, it did. He was not going to let the beast take that man. He refused to let that happen. The two of them had been through so much.

When the blonde man saw the cliff he smiled inwardly, glad for the close call. The man was saved he thought with relief, but then the idiot werewolf jumped and when the blonde reached the edge and peered down he saw nothing but the dark rippling water of the river below.

In that moment, his heart broke into countless pieces. Things were going to be different after this and he would not like them.

Three years later

"Draco, will you be hunting with us today?" asked the brunette.

The blonde shook his head. "It's been exactly three years today and besides, it's the same type."

The brunette gave the blonde man an understanding smile and nodded. "Draco, things will be alright in the end. We don't know if he died or not. There is still a chance."

Narrow grey eyes glared into the brown ones. "And you think that he would want to live as a monster? You think he wouldn't rather die if he was turned?"

"Draco, we don't know if he was turned."

"How could he not be? Hermione, you can't stop it once you've been bitten."

The brunette sighed. "Alright Draco, but I think you need to come with us today. Face your fears. You can't always run from this. You've been running for three years now, do you think Harry would want this? Do you think Harry would be proud of you for running?"

"I'm not running."

"Yes, you are. You are running from the one thing you fear the most. You are afraid that the next werewolf you kill will be Harry. You are afraid that perhaps next time a wolf will take either Ron or me, and you will once again be able to do nothing to stop it. Stop being afraid because it won't bring Harry back. Harry would want you to stand up to your fears because he would have stood up to his. If you say that Harry wouldn't want to live if he were turned then why are you afraid that the next wolf you kill could be him? You would be helping him."

"SHUT UP HERMIONE!" bellowed the blonde man. "You really don't know what it is like, do you? If Ron were turned, would you kill him? To know that you were the one to drive the burning silver sword through his heart, ending his life. How would you feel to have the lifeless body beneath you? Look into the eyes and recognize them as the eyes you've dreamed of for years? The eyes that made you forget? How would you feel?"

"You need to face it, Draco. Eventually, you need to face it. It's difficult working as a team of three but working as a team of two is even worse. If you change your mind, Ron and I are leaving at eleven. You don't need to come with us but please remember, Harry was strong, he was brave. He wouldn't have run and if you truly understood him, you wouldn't run either."

Later that evening

Hermione put the silver sword into the sheath at the side of her hip, her brown hair tied in a hurried ponytail at the nap of her neck.

She looked up as she heard a noise and smiled at the sight before her. "Draco, you're coming?"

The blonde smiled at what that could mean but surrendered to the girl's innocence and nodded.

Ron looked up and smiled as well. "It's good to have you back."

The blonde gave a firm nod before stepping into his boots and doing up the laces.

In five minutes, they were out the door and ready to go.

Hermione led them both into the forest since she'd walked the trail earlier when the sun was up as a preparation for the night.

The girl cleared the way with her silver sword, brushing branches away and cutting some off to clear an easier path for the other two.

They'd just entered the clearing when Hermione heard rustling.

The brunette looked around in front of her but saw nothing. Spinning around, she again saw nothing. This was odd; usually werewolves were noisy and stupid enough to be caught out in the open.

She narrowed her eyes, trying to adjust them to the dark but it didn't help. Then underneath the light of the moon, she saw a small flicker of darkness that was even darker than the shadow beneath the trees.

The brunette took one step towards the blackness while the other two backed her up. They stood behind her as a means to take over if she were to fail at whatever she attempted. This was always a plan that worked, except for that one time three years ago which had cost them greatly. The werewolf attacks had eased since then which made the villagers glad, but they had noticed at once that there were now three members instead of four. No one said anything.

They all froze as a figure stepped out from beneath the shadows of a tree.

They were wrong in thinking they were there to hunt werewolves. In fact, it was something much worse that they were not prepared for.

"Good evening," said a slow drawled voice. Upon realising that neither of the three were going to reply, the vampire continued, "You understand that silver won't save you from me, right?"

The brunette nodded but kept the sword drawn.

The vampire grinned at the irony of keeping a weapon out even if it was useless. "You hunt my slaves. My werewolf population has dropped because of you three. Good thing there are humans all over the place and we can change them any time."

"Give the humans back. They did nothing to you," Hermione demanded.

The two at the back, moved to her side.

"No, they haven't, but you three have. Now, if I get rid of you three then perhaps I won't need any more humans. Would that be a fair trade? I kill all three of you and leave them alone?"

"And how do we know you will keep to the trade?"

The vampire smiled. "You won't."

Two pointy fangs became very visible beneath the glow of the moon.

The vampire closed his lips and smiled at the reaction he received. "Then again, I could just kill you all now and not even bother with the trade, seeing as how all three of you are defenceless. Came well prepared to battle a werewolf but did nothing to protect yourselves against the creatures that really matter, like me."

The vampire took a few steps forward and all three of them could see now that he was actually very attractive. That is, if you like the tall, dark and mysteriously exotic type.

"My name is Sirius Black," voiced the vampire.

The trio stood in silence until Draco found courage. "We're not here to make friends. If you are here to kill us then do it quickly."

There was a smirk on Sirius' lips as he took another step forward towards Draco's direction.

"Ah yes, I was told about you."

Draco's eyebrows rose. "You were? By whom?"

The smile flooded Sirius' face. "Why by your beloved, of course."

The blonde's eyes widened as he whispered Harry's name like a breath of air.

The smile widened on the vampire's face. "Yes, that's him. He tasted wonderful. Did you know that?"

Anger filled Draco's eyes. "YOU BIT HIM?"

The vampire threw his head back and laughed crazily. "Yes I did. And I can bite him again if I want."

"You mean he's still alive?" asked Draco with a slight glimmer of hope in his voice.

"Yes, he is, but not for much longer. I've decided to change him."

The grey eyes dilated. "Change him into what, a monster like you?" Draco exclaimed.

"Yes, a monster, like me," spat Sirius, but his temper cooled when he remembered who held the upper hand. "In fact, he's watching you now. You know, three years gave me the chance to teach him a lot. I was able to teach him things none of you were able to teach him."

"Like how to hurt people?" asked Hermione with every drop of venom she had dripping from the words.

The vampire shook his head with an evil smile. "Like how to love."

Draco's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

The vampire smiled. "How to love. You know, take his manhood and-"

"YOU WHAT?" interrupted the blonde man rudely.

The vampire smiled some more. "I never knew they would be this fun, Harry," he said looking a little beyond them. The trio spun around. There they saw the man who had fought with them since they were children, standing beneath the light rays of the moon, his arms across his chest and a black cape around his shoulders that fell until it just touched the ground. His face was hard and unreadable. Nothing like the happy one filled with life that they had known. His face was now just as pale and colourless as Sirius', yet it somehow heightened his features giving them a more tantalising appearance. Harry was still as beautiful as ever.

"Harry…" whispered Draco as he took a step towards the figure beneath the tree. His eyes narrowed as the emerald green glared back at him, daring him to take another step forward.

The blonde stopped in his tracks. "Harry, what's wrong?"

There was a shrill laugh from behind them and they spun around again to see the face of Sirius once more.

"After all those months of agonizing blabber about his friends. Of his dear friend Ron who stood by him through everything, and of the beautiful warrior princess who protected his life time and time again, and of the damned love whom he refused to betray. You didn't think I would put up with it all did you?"

Ron's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

Sirius sneered. "Why, it took a great deal of energy of course, but we've managed to erase the past from his memories."

The three stood in the middle of the clearing, eyes wide in shock.

Suddenly there was a flash of darkness and Harry was at Sirius' side. Arms quickly wrapping around the older vampire's neck with his gaze fixed on Black's face.

Sirius wrapped an arm around Harry's waist pulling the young man closer to him and stared intently into his eyes.

"You see, he belongs to me now. Harry wants to be what I am, don't you Harry? And I think it's time for him to change," spoke the vampire, his intent black eyes never leaving the emerald jewels.

There was a smile on Harry's face as the young man nodded.

Sirius tilted Harry's head to the side and he didn't protest.

The fangs in Black's mouth became visible once again as his black pupils turned red. They pierced into Harry's soft pale neck.

Draco stepped forward but Hermione held out her hand to stop him.

The blonde's eyes never left the face of his love. The expression of pain on Harry's face quickly vanished and was replaced with a look of pure ecstasy.

The longer the vampire kept his lips attached to the pale throat the paler Harry's features became.

Finally pulling away, Sirius held onto the almost limp body.

Piercing his own free wrist with his fangs, the vampire bled and held the blood to Harry's lips. They parted willingly and smiled as the young man drank it.

Now it was Sirius's turn to look as though he was in ecstasy.

Draco watched as Harry sucked the wound of blood. He even watched as Harry gave the wound one last lick, running his tongue over the cut as if sealing it up with his saliva and then using his tongue to push the wrist away.

"Are you sure that's enough for you, love?" asked Sirius.

Harry smiled. "Yes."

'_Love' _was the only word running through Draco's mind. Sirius called Harry love. SIRIUS CALLED HARRY LOVE! There was no way the blonde was going to let him get away with this. Tearing free from Hermione's hold, he jumped at the two vampires.

Sirius and Harry both anticipated the movement and Sirius moved away as Harry took Draco in his arms.

The blonde starred up into the emerald eyes in shock. He couldn't move, couldn't breath. He couldn't do anything. What could he do? Wasn't this what he had asked for since the moment he laid eyes on Harry? Wasn't this the moment that he had craved for since exactly three years earlier when Harry was taken from him? Now that he was in the position, in the arms of the one he loved, he was afraid. That was when he realized that he had never felt afraid when Harry was around before. There were things in Draco's past that he would never want to come upon again, they scared him, that was why he had fallen in love with Harry in the first place. Harry took that away. Harry took the past away. Harry gave him life, gave him hope and gave him a new beginning.

But not this Harry. This Harry gave him fear, gave him death. This wasn't the Harry he knew. This wasn't the Harry he loved, but as Draco's grey eyes looked into the emerald depths, to his surprise, he saw something. He saw a flicker of the old Harry. He was still in there and if Draco remembered correctly that meant that Harry wasn't a vampire yet.

Before Harry could bite into Draco's neck, the blonde spoke. "How many times did you exchange blood with him, Sirius?"

The older vampire was taken aback by the bravery of the blonde. "Twice."

Draco smiled as knowledge and relief hit him. "That's not enough."

Sirius narrowed his eyes and Draco felt the movement of the body next to him. "No, but that doesn't mean I can't take you."

With that Sirius grabbed Draco from Harry's arms and drew back his teeth. One hand reached into the blonde hair and yanked at it so his neck was exposed.

Harry's eyes narrowed. He loved Sirius but no one grabs from Harry. No one. Harry growled and Sirius froze, immediately recognizing the ascending anger.

"Harry, he needs to die. You're not ready yet so I'll do it."

"No." Harry replied.

Sirius lowered Draco's body but didn't loosen the grip as he raised an eyebrow at the young man before him. "No?"

"No. I want him. We can save him until I'm ready. But I get him."

The older vampire pondered this but a smile soon flickered on his face. "Yes, I think that would be a great idea." Sirius leaned down to Draco's ear and whispered, "The one you love is going to kill you. Oh, the dramatic irony of it all. How does THAT make you feel?"

Draco's eyes widened. "How did you-"

Another smile flickered across Sirius' face. "Being a vampire gives you great strengths; one of them is the ability to mind read. I do my research DRACO. I watch you and now I know what my competition is."

"You didn't let him change into a werewolf," stated a voice from the clearing.

Sirius shoved Draco onto the ground in a heap. He straightened up and located the voice in which the question had come from. "Why would I do that and waste something as beautiful as Harry? He deserved to be something more. He deserved to be something more elegant and less beastlike."

"And you don't think you're a beast? You take life. You're already dead. You should have died when you had the chance," Hermione spat.

Sirius looked bored. "Look, I don't have time for this," he said, his gaze shifting and landing on the emerald green eyes. "We should get back. Let the werewolves take those two?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't care as long as I get this one," he said nudging Draco's body with his foot.

The blonde was shocked at the way Harry addressed him so insensitively. How could Harry do that? Just leave him lying on the ground like that? Of course, Harry's memory was erased, but still, didn't he remember Draco at all? Didn't he remember their love at all?

Sirius nodded. He took Draco's body in his arms and the three of them disappeared.

Hermione and Ron panicked. Draco and Harry were both gone now, leaving the two of them in the middle of the clearing, totally vulnerable and unaware of how many werewolves and vampires were out there and hungry.


	2. Part 2 Cascading

**Part 2**-Cascading

**Betas:** Great thanks to Susanna, Rachael Chapman, and the magnificent Karen.

Draco shut his eyes as he felt his body being carried through the darkness carelessly. Obvious as it may be, Sirius certainly didn't care if Draco's body broke into a million pieces or not.

Part of Draco hoped that at least Harry would care but it was not likely. Harry just wanted food and to a vampire, Draco was definitely food.

The blonde felt them land and he was quickly shoved into a corner of a cold dungeon.

He glared up at Sirius who only smirked as a reply and turned to walk a few steps away.

Behind Sirius stood Harry with his arms crossed, standing up straight and proud while he cast a superior look down at Draco. The blonde had never felt so lonely. Never had he ever felt so helpless.

"This is a dungeon," said Sirius, "where you will be staying for the remainder of your pathetic little life."

Sirius turned to Harry. "We should go to bed," he said seductively. "Shouldn't we?"

Harry was definitely feeling quite exhausted. He didn't understand why Sirius had made them exchange blood in front of the humans because it had been a rather intimate act. When they had first exchanged blood, it was in the privacy of Harry's quarters that one night. The night they had, both made love for the first time.

Harry nodded and without a second glance at Draco, he turned and left before Sirius could say anything.

Draco stared at the retreating back of his love and his heart felt like it was breaking all over again. It was stupid of him to think that Harry would care. It was stupid to think that the old Harry was in there somewhere.

Sirius turned to face Draco after Harry had left the cell and sneered at the blonde on the floor. "He's mine now DRACO. He's mine and there is no way you can have him back."

"He was mine first, Black," countered the blonde man in the corner.

The vampire smiled. "Yes, but that doesn't matter right now, does it?"

Draco glared. "Why do you want him so much?"

"Because DRACO, he makes me feel. That is something I have never been able to do before. Plus, isn't he just charming? That beautiful black hair and innocent demeanour. Do you remember how to make love to him? Do you remember what makes him moan, sigh, groan and scream? Do you remember which spots drive him insane with pleasure? Do you remember how it is to kiss those lips? Do you remember? Well he doesn't, at least not from you. He only remembers me and that's what counts. The only use you'll be to him now is food."

Draco glared as his eyes became wet. He wouldn't cry though. He wouldn't show weakness to this demon.

Sirius gave one last annoyed look to Draco and spun around elegantly only to disappear a moment later into darkness.

Draco lay there, on the cold stone floor unable to do anything. To breathe only reminded him that he was still alive. To shut his eyes would leave him even more vulnerable than sitting in the unknown darkness. To think only brought back memories of the one thing he can never ever have again.

IN HARRY'S QUARTERS

Harry lay down on his bed and shut his eyes. He was so tired from the blood exchange. Sirius had really taken a lot out of him and he hadn't taken very much from Sirius.

Then, seeing those eyes, those eyes seemed too familiar and to add to that, what was Sirius saying about my old love? Harry shrugged; he didn't care to think of it. Not at the moment anyway. He was far too tired to consider even thinking about something like his life before he met Sirius.

Sirius loved him. Sirius cared about him. He remembered the day he was captured, one of the few memories he still had left. The werewolf had brought him to an abandoned cave in the middle of the woods. Its big yellow teeth were right above his chest. Saliva dripping from the jaw. Eyes glowing with yellow light. Claws, with sharp nails, grabbing hold of him. Suddenly the same flash of grey eyes he saw earlier filled his vision. Was that what he missed? He couldn't remember anything before that but he could never forget the feeling. The feeling like his heart was broken, being torn from his soul. He didn't want to change. The werewolf had told him, had warned him of what was next to come. He didn't want to change, to change means he would be what he had always hunted. He didn't want that. He couldn't remember why he didn't want it but he knew he just didn't. He would rather die, because if he turned that meant he would be betraying someone- who was it? He couldn't remember, not that far back anyway. He kept getting flashes like those. He used to be able to remember things, he used to be able to remember exactly how it felt when those memories were with him but lately his memories had started to disappear; After that accident of course. Harry had had an accident and when he woke, he couldn't remember anything. Sirius had taken care of him. The vampire told him that every moment he had stood by Harry and Harry loved him for that. It was as if he was family. Now he was only able to get flashes, the slight flashes of what had happened after the werewolf took him. That was as far as the memories would bring him. Never further.

Of course, he had asked Sirius about it but the older vampire had always told him that it was nothing of importance. It was nothing to worry about. And he trusted Sirius because it was Sirius who had stopped the werewolf. It was Sirius, who had stopped Remus Lupin from biting him three years ago.

If his past was such a bad memory then why did the eyes make him feel-good? Was it good? No, it was full. Full? That didn't make sense.

The door opened and Harry's eyes flew open. He knew his senses were now more enhanced then they were before. They had to be. He was going to be a hunter now. A real hunter. He was going to be like Sirius.

"Harry love, you're not asleep yet. You should be. I took a lot tonight. You should rest."

Harry nodded and pulled the blankets tighter around him as he shut his eyes and fell asleep almost instantly.

NEXT EVENING

Harry opened his eyes and found Sirius next to him. It was usually a rather normal situation but tonight it just felt awkward to have Sirius in the same bed as him, with his arms around him. Harry shook off the strange feeling. He had never felt this way before. Why should he now? He knew the answer instantly though. The grey eyes again flashed in his mind and his answer was right there. But he also didn't understand why the man just stared at him. It was clear that Harry would have attacked that 'Draco' individual. The man had seen what vampires could do; he must have known what kind of abilities Harry had despite the fact that he wasn't a full vampire yet.

When it was clear that Sirius was still sleeping, Harry got up and made his way to the dungeons. He was changing, breakfast meant nothing to him anymore unless it was the taste of blood, but he wasn't dead yet. He needed one more exchange of blood to make the transformation complete. He knew that, Sirius had told him that. He knew he had to wait until he had regenerated more blood to exchange again.

Harry slowly opened the door to the dungeon that he had been in the night before. In the corner was Draco, the man with the grey eyes that he just didn't seem to be able to keep his mind away from.

The blonde boy looked up and Harry could see the grey eyes widen at the sight of him. Harry sighed as he took the reaction as a sense of fear. "I'm not going to hurt you. Not right now anyway."

The grey eyes kept staring at him and Harry felt a bit self-conscious under the intense gaze.

Harry took a slow step forward. "Your name's Draco right?"

The blonde nodded slightly, never taking his eyes off Harry.

Harry tried to look at everything but the blonde as he spoke. "So, I wanted to ask if we possibly knew each other- knew each other, before, I mean. I get these flashes and I remember you - well I THINK I remember you, though I can't remember much else."

The blonde nodded again and this time when Harry looked into the grey eyes he thought he saw the eyes widen a bit more, but there was a flash of something in those grey eyes. Was that hope?

"How do we know each other?"

"We," the blonde paused as if thinking what to say next.

Harry nudged him on. "Yes?"

"Harry," said the blonde and Harry saw it, the slight glisten in the grey eyes. "We were lovers."

The words were spoken slightly above a whisper and Harry hardly believed he heard it at all.

"We were what?"

"Lovers, Harry." This time a tear escaped the grey eyelid and slid down the pale cheek. Harry had the biggest urge to take his thumb and push that tear away.

A flash hit Harry at the sight of the glistening wet trail from the tear.

FLASHBACK

Harry was sitting by the fire with someone beside him. Who was it? He couldn't remember, he just couldn't see the face.

They had both been talking, talking about their past, talking about the secrets that even their closest friends didn't know about. These two were special, the ones sitting next to each other by the fireplace. They shared more than just a relationship, more than just a friendship.

The grey eyes beside him had shed a tear, that single tear made Harry's heart wrench with disquiet. What had the one with grey eyes told Harry? What had he said that touched Harry so much?

Harry had then reached out and wiped the tear away and the face leaned into his caress. Harry's heart wrenched again but this time with happiness.

FLASHBACK END

The grey eyes were looking at him. More real than the memory he just received. The tear had dried on the pale cheek before Harry had noticed.

They looked at each other a moment before Harry heard the familiar voice in his head.

_Harry, love, where are you?_

The emerald eyes went wide open and he stood and made his way to the door.

That was when he remembered that he was still talking to the man with the grey eyes and he turned to see the eyes look at him in puzzlement.

"I…. Sirius just asked where I was. I need to go. Are you hungry? Has one of the wolves fed you yet?"

The blonde nodded. "Yes, I was fed."

Harry nodded and left the cell to the blonde.

In Harry's chambers

"Harry, love where were you?" asked Sirius happily as he heard Harry enter the room.

"In the dungeon," replied Harry.

"Why?" asked Sirius, furrowing his eyebrows.

"I was just checking on him," said Harry casually. He then paused for a moment to think if he should ask the question. Finally curiosity got the better of him and he couldn't take it anymore. "Do I know him?"

Sirius's eyes darkened in quiet contemplation for just a moment too long before he answered, "No."

LATER THAT NIGHT

Harry sat on his bed. He had the biggest urge to go down to the dungeon to check on Draco. Why? He didn't know.

Since the arrival of the blonde Harry felt like so many of his questions that he had before had been answered but with those answers also brought along a whole slew of other new and rather confusing questions.

Why did Sirius lie to him? Harry knew the truth, he had practically seen the truth and he could tell that Sirius had lied to him. Evidence being the amount of time it took the vampire to answer the question and proviging only a simple answer as a reply.

Didn't Sirius love Harry? Didn't Sirius tell Harry that if they love each other that there shouldn't be secrets between them? Then why had Sirius lied to him? But then again, Harry had lied to Sirius as well, in a way.

Harry hadn't told Sirius what went on in the dungeon. He hadn't told the vampire about what memories he had gotten while he was down there. Isn't holding a secret and not telling just as bad as out right lying?

There was a knock on the door and Harry jumped at the sound. His newly enhanced senses made the slightest sound seem louder than he was used to.

Harry cleared his throat to compose himself before he spoke. "Enter."

The door slowly creaked open and Blaise walked in.

The two smiled at each other as Blaise entered.

Blaise took a seat by Harry in front of the fire on the couch. "So, how was your second exchange?"

Harry sighed and shrugged.

Blaise raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't seem like nothing."

"Blaise, how did you know you wanted to be a vampire?"

The man with curly black locks shrugged. "I've just always liked vampires. While those in my village were terrified of them, I found them intriguing. I wanted to not only learn more about them but also live amongst them. They have so much power and they can just do so much that normal humans can't do. Why? You don't want to be a vampire?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, if I become a vampire, it would mean that I'd be giving up daylight. I'm giving up the sun forever. I can't turn back."

Blaise sighed and took his legs into his own embrace. "No, I guess not, but does it matter that much to you? The sun, I mean. If you become a vampire, you get the moon, you get power and you get to be on the top of the food chain. You hunt the humans; the humans can't hurt you. Unless they have a wooden stake of course."

"Exactly. When vampires die, don't they just disappear?"

Blaise nodded. "Yes, but we also have the power to not die. There are only a certain amount of things that can kill us. I mean, like a stake through the heart, sunlight, loss of blood but not many things can pierce our skin. It's not as easy to die once you're a vampire as it is when you're a human."

"Yeah, but I'd also be giving up my soul wouldn't I?"

Blaise nodded but didn't speak.

"Blaise, I don't think I could give that up, my soul, I mean. A soul is so important. Once a soul is gone and I die, I can't come back."

"But you won't die Harry. What makes you think you will?"

Harry shrugged. "I guess I'm not really concerned with me dying but, wouldn't it feel absolutely empty? I wouldn't be me anymore. I would be Harry Potter the vampire with no soul."

Blaise smiled. "No vampires have souls. Even if you have a soul mate. You just lose your soul and then there's no way for a soul mate to find fulfillment."

"But what if there's someone out there-"

"Harry, are you just having second thoughts about Sirius? Are you afraid he'll leave you? Because he won't. He loves you. I've never seen him this happy before. It's like you give him life even though he is damned to never have one."

"See, there you just said it. When you're a vampire, aren't you damned? I mean, you're not even allowed to go to hell after you've turned into a vampire. You just, disappear."

Blaise threw his head back as he laughed. "Harry, we've been friends since you joined us right?"

Harry nodded.

"Then you trust me right?"

Harry nodded again.

"Then you'll just have to trust me when I tell you that I've never been happier since I've become a vampire."

Harry shrugged. "I guess."

"Then why are you still questioning it? Just, no doubts Harry okay? You'll finally be one of us, permanently. It'll be like your family Harry. We'll be a family."

"Yeah, a family," repeated Harry wistfully.

Blaise smiled and made his way to the door. "It'll be alright Harry. You'll like being a vampire. Trust me. I've never ever regretted it for even a moment."

Harry smiled. "Thanks. Thanks for talking to me about it."

"No problem. What are friends for?" stated Blaise as he smiled and left.

IN SIRIUS' QUARTERS

The door swung open before the vampire even knocked. Sirius could hear better, he was a vampire after all and though Blaise was trained rather well in the art of discretion, not much ever got past Sirius.

The man with dark curly locks stepped into the room.

"He's having doubts," said Blaise.

"What? Why?"

"He wants to keep his soul."

"But he didn't doubt before. Why now?"

"I think it's the prisoner in the dungeon."

"Why do you say that? Did he say something?"

"No, but don't you find it weird that since the blonde came, Harry's been a bit, off? He's more secluded now. He hasn't come out of his quarters since you found him earlier tonight."

"It's the effects of changing."

"No, it's more and you know it Sirius. I know you can feel it Sirius, just as I can. I think the blonde is his soul mate and the idiot human is trying so hard to mentally will Harry to return to him that it's actually starting to work. The connection is weak, though, because Harry is already more than half way vampire. We need to kill the human fast."

"But he'll come back."

Blaise glared at Sirius. "What kind of head vampire are you? We can change him. Turn him into a vampire _then_ kill him. That way he won't be able to return. He won't have a soul to return with."

Sirius smiled. "I was sure I kept you for a reason."

* * *

Many thanks to all who reviewed!

**JadeLilyMalfoy:** I actually wrote this before I even knew Gary Oldman was in Dracula. Never the less, I watched it, and it's wonderful!

**Pink Cherry Blossom:** There certainly will be some flashbacks. Not only for Harry and Draco but for Hermione and Ron as well. I'm almost done. And my beta is absolutely wonderful. It's a 20 chapter fic. I'm at chapter 13. But with school, it may take much longer to finish writing it than anticipated.

**fudgebaby:** Thank you so much! Haha, I've had this whole idea in my head for over 2 years now. And I'm finally making the effort to post it.

**Cat:** Sorry for the late update. I just finished the enormous workload. It probably won't be a while until I can get the next chapter up. 3 essays due in a month and all. But that's University and wanting to do a little something with my life.


	3. Part 3 Upon

**Part 3**-Upon

**Disclaimer**: The vampire information and that little tidbit about werewolves were from a series I read. 'The Vampire Diaries' by L. J. Smith and some parts of her 'Night World' series. All the information were taken from these books so if some of them is different from what you've always known, sorry but this is information that I've taken from my own sources.

**Note**: This chapter is based on Hermione and Ron but it is very important. If you chose not to read it, well in the future chapters if things come up and you don't understand why, it's because of this chapter. This is a purely information chapter, quite boring but important nonetheless.

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Hermione grabbed a book from the shelf and threw it on the table, along with a pile of scattered books already taking residence there.

Ron was sitting in a chair by the table, starring absentmindedly at nothing specific.

"Come on! I know it's in here somewhere," said Hermione.

There was no reply or response from the red head sitting at the desk.

"Ron, snap out of it and help me! Do you really want Harry to change? If we don't get to them in time-" Hermione shook her head. There was no way she was going to be able to continue that sentence.

"Harry, Harry can't change," said Ron sounding as if he was almost afraid to speak.

The brunette gave him a sympathetic look. She understood because the four of them had known each other for as long as they were willing to remember. It was the support of one another that had helped each of them move on from their own personal hidden past. They all had something to hide and it was the secrets that kept the four so strong together. They loved each other because they understood what was needed to deal with those of an unhappy past, but it was the respect they had for each other to keep their secret to themselves that made their bond so strong. They never pushed, they never shoved, they never accused and they never misunderstood. They always cared; they were always there, always willing to give and never expected to receive. They always knew and yet were in the dark. It was just how their friendship was. There was no pestering, no forcing, no unreasonable requests. It was having the secrets that allowed them to trust each other.

As far as Hermione could remember, Harry had always been there for Ron. There were secrets between the two that not even Hermione knew about. That was just the way they were. Of course, there were things between Harry and Hermione that Ron and Draco didn't know either but that was beside the point. It had hit Ron hard when it was revealed that Harry was still alive, and was about to change over. Change over to something they had all been fighting. One thing that was evident between the four of them though was that these creatures, the ones they were fighting, were connected to each and every single one of the Night Hunter's past.

Yet, knowing just that much was enough for all of them. It was reason enough for one to risk their life for another so at least one of the four members could go on living, pushing the past behind them. This had been the unspoken goal between the four, at the beginning anyway. If three of the members were to die during an assignment in helping the last member forget the past, it was enough. The three would have died absolutely complete in knowing they had achieved that. Now that relationships and love had formed between the four, they wanted everyone to be happy and to live through this because they loved each other so much that it would hurt too much to leave one behind.

Though they don't show it now but when Harry had first disappeared from them three years ago, Hermione and Ron were torn apart. Harry meant a lot to them, just as much as they all meant to each other. Though the two of them knew that nothing could compare to what Draco had felt, they still hurt. In a way, even knowing that Harry was still alive, they were all still mourning, still sad that they had lost three whole years with a strong part of their group.

"Ron," said Hermione with the gentlest voice she possessed. "Please, just help me search through these books. I know you don't like reading but please, do it for Harry?"

The red head was staring out into space again but he nodded slightly. "For Harry," was all he spoke before he snapped out of his trance, picked up a book and started noting down anything he could find relating to vampires.

Three hours later both of them had a small piece of parchment each with information about vampires written down.

"Alright Ron, that's all my books. Are you done with yours?"

The red head nodded while quickly scribbling a final note.

"Alright, let's begin," said Hermione looking down her list of facts she had taken. "I've got that garlic does nothing to keep them away. Neither do fire, water, and ice. Those are all myths."

Ron nodded. "Mirrors, their reflection is still there. A mirror is supposed to reflect someone's soul but it doesn't matter, their physical form is still there. The reflection of the soul is also a myth."

"Alright, well I've got that stakes and sunlight really work and are most probably the only ways to kill them."

Ron nodded in agreement. "I've got that they cannot fly. They are not really bats. If anything, they turn into an animal. But most of them can only turn into one animal at a time unless they have been taking a powerful life source. Powerful life source meaning the entire life, drinking a human dry. Those vampires are the most powerful. For some reason, drinking human blood is not enough; it is the very last jerk of blood, that last drop where the soul is, that really amplifies the power. The more powerful they are, the more abilities they have."

"What type of abilities?" asked Hermione.

"Vampire abilities, like being able to blend into the darkness better, being able to move faster, definitely stronger as in able to hit better, accuracy, sharper senses, faster transformations into their animal forms, some really powerful ancient vampires have been known to have the ability to control the elements."

"The elements like?" questioned the brunette.

"Like the weather."

"Why would they do that?"

"Because there is a way they can stay out in the sun without getting burned."

"How?"

"It's with a jewel. It's blue and it's called the Lapis short for Lapis Lazuli. They can wear it as a decoration on their finger, around their neck, wherever. As long as the stone is on them it gives them protection against the sun. So the point of controlling weather would be so they can make the weather cloudier and therefore be more powerful during the day."

"Why would they want to come out during the day?"

"I'm not sure, but this is not something well known to vampires out there. It was a secret for the really powerful and elite groups to make other vampires feel inferior to them. Though even if they knew about it, I doubt they would care unless they wanted to live a human life. There have been recorded incidences where a vampire, forced or renowned, chooses to live among humans to feel like they have their soul back. Though there is no record of any of them living after they had been found out either by humans or by vampires who don't agree with their way."

Hermione nodded and jotted this point down onto her own little note pad.

"How many maximum animal forms can they take?" asked Hermione.

"Three at the most. Even for the most powerful of vampires."

Hermione nodded again and took note.

"Well, have you got information about running water?" asked Hermione.

Ron shook his head.

"Well, it's basically stating that vampires are not allowed to go over running water. It's because it's a flow of purity and goodness. Water is pure, there is nothing contaminating it. Therefore something evil enough to take life from living creatures is not pure enough to be allowed to cross running water."

"How does that help?" asked Ron.

"I don't know, maybe it will come up. We need to know these little facts Ron. We need to know everything there is about our enemy. We will not just go into this unprepared."

How they had escaped all those werewolves after Sirius had taken Draco and disappeared with Harry was a question neither two could answer. After the three of them had left, the werewolves attacked. Luckily there were not that many, this might have been because Hermione and Ron had been working hard to get rid of as many werewolves for the past three years as possible. They had used silver and burned as many werewolves as possible. In the end, both Ron and Hermione had been able to hold off the werewolves and take cover in their cabin in the woods once more.

A few of the wolves had been cured. This was because there was a way to change werewolves back to humans. It was a fact that if one of their ligaments was cut off - it didn't matter which ligament, as long as one was taken off under a full moon - then they would turn back into a human. Some chose to die afterward because once the curse was removed they were able to remember all the evil they had done. This caused a lot of traumatic reactions because this certain pack of wolves had been circling around the same few villages and sometimes the werewolves would have attacked their own loved ones. Once realizing something like this, they didn't feel like they deserved to live anymore.

The two had been silent for a while until Ron chose to speak again. "Invitation," he said.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.

"They need an invitation to enter a house. Well, a living area anyway – a place where humans eat and sleep is a living area. But there is one problem with this; werewolves and vampires don't need to be invited by the people living in the house. As long as someone invites them into a house, they are in forever."

"Sirius said he knew where we lived. Why haven't they sent anyone after us then?"

Ron shrugged. "Maybe he had other plans for Draco."

"Then what about now? I'm sure he would have at least told a werewolf by now, and we both know they are all after us."

Ron shrugged again. "I guess we should try and find cover somewhere else soon. But my bet is that they don't care anymore. Sirius looked at Draco as a threat because he wanted Harry. We are not as much of a threat to him as Draco was. We don't matter, which in turn could be a good thing. If we ever find a way to save both of them, well the vampires won't be expecting us because they didn't care enough."

Hermione shook her head. "Doesn't matter. Vampires can read minds. The stronger the vampire the stronger their mind reading powers become. They'd be able to sense us coming."

"So they'll be able to track us down?" asked Ron.

"Not only that. They have the power to control minds. They could take over our minds and we wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Ron, they could turn us against each other," explained Hermione.

"There is a way to stop it though. I didn't read the mind control part from the book so I don't know where it fits in but there is a type of plant, Verbena Officinalis, more commonly known as Vervain, which can help humans keep their own state of mind from being taken over by vampires. We could probably find some around here somewhere."

Hermione nodded. "There's more, though," said Hermione looking at the most important part of her information, "the process of the change."

The brunette noticed, out of the corner of her eye, the nervousness that took over the Ron at the mention of the change.

"Vampires actually do not change others by using the saliva in their mouth. It takes more than that to change someone. To change a human into a vampire they need to exchange blood. Not only once though, multiple times, mainly three. Each time the human will lose more of their soul to the darkness. Each time there should be a waiting period for the human to regenerate a bit more blood for the exchange, unless the vampire gave more blood than the human did. A Human could be an inch from death but the moment the exchange occurs, they will recover. However, part of their soul is gone. Sometimes it can come back but then the human would end up dying in the end. It is not a loophole for medical help, it's a curse. No matter what happens, a small part of the soul would be gone and there's no way of getting that back. So there is hope for Harry, not much but there's still hope. If Harry is rescued and taken to heal, using his own blood to take over the vampire blood, the poison in the vampire blood will slowly disappear and he could be human once again."

"So you're saying that once Harry exchanges his blood with Sirius one more time, his soul will be lost forever?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, there's one more thing."

"What?"

"Harry needs to die."

Ron's eyes went wide. "What do you mean die?"

"I mean, after he exchanges the blood he needs to die in order for the entire process to go through. Then his body will come back to life once it has been rested or enough time has passed."

"You mean, after all that, Harry won't only be a vampire, he would basically be a dead body taking life from humans?"

"Yes. Oh, but you've also forgotten that vampires can take blood from animals as well. Those who were changed unwillingly actually have a choice. Though they would be the weaker of the vampire race, they would feel better about themselves. It's a way of living out their situation as best as possible."

"Harry wouldn't want that," said Ron sounding almost as if he was telling himself rather than Hermione.

"The old Harry wouldn't. But the new one doesn't know what to think. The new one doesn't know how to think. He's been brainwashed."

"How was he brainwashed?" asked Ron.

"Well, seeing as how vampires have the power to control the mind, Sirius could have easily erased Harry's memory. Problem is that it's been three years. Therefore there must have been a reason why it took so long for Harry's memories to be erased," said Hermione slowly trying to brainstorm a solution in her head.

"Hermione?"

"Yes Ron?"

"What if Harry didn't want his memories erased?"

"You mean of the past? Why wouldn't he? I mean, if I could forget everything I knew up until I met you guys I would."

"No, I mean, what if there were other memories or something else that was stopping him."

"Like what?"

"What if, Hermione, what if Harry and Draco are soul mates?"

"What would that have anything to do with this?" retorted Hermione sounding absolutely uninterested.

"Haven't you read up on soul mates Hermione?"

"No. It's just a bunch of nonsense. A soul mate doesn't exist. It's what lovey dovey couples say to make their lives more bearable."

Ron rolled his eyes. Hermione never really took anything to heart unless it was written in a text book and proven to be true. Of course, soul mates have always been theory. A theory that has never been proven. Only believed by those who really felt that they were truly soul mates.

"Well anyway Hermione, soul mates start an entirely new discussion topic which I swore I would not get into. Especially with you. Anyway, what if Draco and Harry are soul mates and it was the bond between the two of them that was holding Harry's memory for so long."

Hermione pursed her lips, absolutely not believing a word of what had just been said, but in order to keep her husband entertained she would continue to humour the ridiculous theory. "Then why would it just stop holding if the soul mate bond was so powerful?"

"What if Harry lost hope? What if something finally snapped in his head and after having waited so many years to be rescued he gave up. What if he thought Draco didn't care about him? What if- what if he thought Draco didn't love him anymore?"

"If the soul mate bond is as strong as you say it is then wouldn't Harry have been able to feel the bond between them fade? Wouldn't Harry be able to tell that Draco still loved him?"

"Not if Sirius is a really powerful vampire. If he was powerful enough, he might be able to twist that bond in Harry's head. Twist it so that he made Harry think the love had turned into hate or that the hope was gone."

Hermione gave Ron a really worried look. "That seems a bit far fetched Ron. I mean, there are so many 'what if's'. So, what if all those 'what if's' are wrong? Then what explanation would there be for Harry's sudden change?"

Ron had hoped it wouldn't have to come to this. " Hermione, what if Harry and Sirius made love?"

Hermione's eyes went wide. "Well that could be a possibility. I- I mean, well," she stuttered. This had never even occurred to her and frankly it scared her too much to think about. It had always been Draco. Since Draco had joined it had always been Draco and had only been Draco. The same thing when it came to the blonde. So it had never even crossed her mind that it could happen. "But why would Harry want to do that? If he still loved Draco he would never do that and I know he still loves Draco."

Ron was silent for a moment then he quickly grabbed a book and flipped through until he reached a page with a small bit of information on. The red head cleared his throat. "It is fact that though some vampires have the power to change into animals, they also possess the power to change into human form." The red head looked up at Hermione. "What if there was another vampire that changed into Draco or something. Then using that form they could have done anything. Made it look like Draco had cheated on Harry or made it look like Draco had died or something. Anything to make Harry think all hope was lost, then Sirius could move in. It wasn't like Sirius didn't know what Draco looked like. He said so himself that he had been watching Draco since the moment Harry had mentioned him. Sirius could have been around here for such a long time, watching and spying on him, then perhaps one of the other vampires was told to change into Draco and, lets say, have Harry walk in on Draco in a rather intimate position with someone else? Harry's heart would be broken and it would have been so easy for Sirius to move in while he's down. The tired Harry who was upset and vulnerable. The Harry that no longer believed that he had anything to live for. It would have been so easy Hermione. It would have been so easy for Sirius to take Harry at the most vulnerable of times, therefore weakening the soulmate bond. Harry's lost hope also weakened his mind and then his memory was easily erased."

This for some reason convinced Hermione – after all the years of trying to get the brunette to understand, or rather believe the theory of soul mates. Even Draco and Harry had tried, when they were here, to get Hermione to believe it, but she was stubborn. She kept refusing to believe unless she was handed some hard evidence or proof that showed the existence of a soul mate.

Ron waited as Hermione pondered everything that had just been discussed between them.

Finally, the brunette took a fresh piece of parchment and wrote down all the important information they had found. "So vampires have the ability to communicate right?"

"Yes they do."

"So what if they were talking to someone who didn't have the power to reply back?" asked Hermione with a new determined tone to her question.

"It wouldn't work. It would be like being at the end of a one way conversation unless they were standing face to face. If you don't have the power to use the gift then you can't use it, that simple. So if it was a really wise vampire it would most likely be to give a human information or to trick them into stepping out of the house so they could strike or something like that."

Hermione nodded as she took notes of what Ron had just said.

"Who was the first(1) vampire?"

"Well, no one's really sure. Some say it was actually a race that died out because there were battles amongst those who lived on earth. There are just so many theories. Some say that there was someone who wanted to live forever and was willing to give up their soul to achieve this. Therefore they took spells from witches and such to complete rituals. There's nothing certain about who was first. I don't think it matters much anymore anyway."

Hermione nodded as she sat back and listened to this. "Can vampires conceive?"

"No. They are not alive therefore they cannot make life; well that's my theory anyway. How do you make something out of nothing? You can't. Though, there were rumours going around about how some vampires fell in love with humans and conceived that way but nothing was certain. No real written proof. This also depends on what type of source you believe. If you think that they were a race then of course they can conceive, how else were they created? But if you believe that perhaps someone had gone mad and obsessed about life then most likely the beliefs are that they cannot have children. For me, I don't think they can. It just doesn't make sense. How could they create something pure if they are impure themselves?"

"But aren't all humans impure? At least when they get older I mean."

Ron nodded slowly in pondering agreement. "But humans don't kill." Ron paused and decided to word his theory more accurately. "Well, they don't take another's life to sustain their own. They don't need someone else's life essences to sustain their own life."

Hermione nodded. "Alright. Let's make ourselves some weapons and figure out where they hide out. It must be somewhere near if the werewolves are under their control. I understand that vampires are fast and they could travel very far in a short period of time but they need to keep a firm grip on the werewolves. The wolves tend to misbehave so tight surveillance would be needed."

Ron nodded. "And I know where they live."

Hermione's eyes went wide. "Where and how?"

"How? It was simple; couldn't you tell when you looked at Harry? He had new clothes; they looked like they were fitted just for him, sophisticated. He looked well groomed, therefore that means he is being very well taken care of, which means that there is only one place they could be."

Something seemed to have clicked in Hermione's head as her jaw fell slightly. "The Essence Manor at the top of Sacrifice Tip."

Ron nodded. "Makes sense doesn't it? The village leader told us that it was abandoned around four years ago. Just before the time we arrived. No one dares go up there; well no one's lived long enough to get close to that place."

"That means that there will be a lot of things guarding it. We need to be prepared for darkness."

Ron nodded and looked out the window behind Hermione as the sun peeked through the drawn curtains. "Darkness," he whispered.

* * *

(1) First vampire means the original vampire. The very first one who started the vampire race.

* * *

Review Replies:

B>fudgebaby: /B> Haha, thanks!

B>lovly elley: /B> Thank you!

B>Pink Cherry Blossom: /B> Haha, hope you liked this information chapter. It's basically the set up for all the other chapters and any questions anyone may have about the way I'm portraying vampires. Thanks for the continual support! loves

B>Just-Human: /B> Hey Cat, I hope this chapter wasn't too boring. No Harry/Draco but this is an important chapter.

B>JadeLilyMalfoy: /B> Thanks! Yeah, I recognized your name. I hope the waiting isn't too bad. Summer holiday's coming up, I'll be posting sooner when y finals are over and done with.


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